Monday, August 25, 2014

Review: Driving With The Top Down By: Beth Harbison

Driving with the Top DownDriving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Three females find themselves on a trip down 1-95. Colleen Bradley owns a business that restores and refurbishes finds, this is a trip she needs - troubles at home, worries in her marriage, but she finds that she has to care for her troubled niece Tamara on this journey and wonders how this escape is going to go well. Tamara has lost her mother, has a father that isn't interested in her, finds herself making bad choices over and over, and is between spiraling and being lost, how can she remove the walls she built to even let her aunt get to know who she is, when she doesn't. By some strange chance of fate, Colleen bumps into her old best friend from college, Bitty Nolan, who is at the end of her rope, where the reflection of what came to be is not what could have been. As they travel secrets and decisions come out and they soon find out that the best thing is to enjoy life with the top down, experiencing it completely.
Grab your sisters, your girlfriends, cousins, even your book club - this is the one you all are going to have fun reading. This is a girl's book. A beach read. It touches on the the heart of us, the vulnerable side of us, the insecurities, the part the keeps us strong, and has us not just finding a rainbow but making one.

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Review: The Good Girl By: Mary Kubica

The Good GirlThe Good Girl by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mia Dennett is missing, rather, she has been taken. She is the victim of an elaborate ransom plan to effect her father, the Honorable Judge Dennett. Through different eyes and flashes of before she was found and after, the story unfolds. Gabe, the detective assigned to the case and where the people involved become very personal, the line he once held he now crosses. Eve, Mia's mother, who knows in her gut and as she crumbles with each passing week, she becomes stronger within herself. Colin, the kidnapper, who has his own story and history, by flipping the script on those that ordered the kidnapping has now put both their lives in danger, but believes he has saved hers. It isn't until the very end that we finally hear Mia's voice.
The mystery of what happened in the cabin in the woods, what happened to Mia - who now calls herself Chloe, and all the lives that changed over one girls disappearance.
Sometimes I felt a bit frustrated with the before and after with it coming from so many voices, bouncing from Eve before to Gabe after and Colin before to Eve after, but after a while it began to paint the picture the author wanted.

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Review: Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose

Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary RoseDear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose by Gillian McCain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a diary, the journal of Mary Rose. Through the years of 1996-1999 she chronicles school, boys, drugs. Her entries are raw. You, the reader, will feel the emotions flow off the page ~ be it depression, the pain of rape, the bullying, the need and desperation for love and acceptance, and her anger over fighting death. Mary Rose was fighting cystic fibrosis. Although a teen in the late 90s, her struggles are very familiar and not outdated. This book was edited from the original 600 pages she wrote, but nothing is missing - her life is on these pages.
This is a book to read in a group, with your child, for discussion. It can be heavy and filled with triggers for some with PTSD.

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Review: My Last Kiss By: Bethany Neal

My Last KissMy Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really think it is closer to 3.5 stars but I rounded up

Cassidy Haines finds herself standing outside of her body at what was her seventeenth birthday celebration being thrown at her best friend's, Aimee, place. There is something very wrong, people think she jumped, they think it was a suicide. Things are fuzzy, but the truth is somewhere - she just needs to get to it. One problem, she is dead, no one can see her, except her longtime boyfriend Ethan, whom she did betray.
Part mystery, part coming of age, where bad decisions and lies meet with jealousy and betrayal, as those left to mourn or hide in guilt are exposed, as well as Cassidy coming to terms with her actions leading up to her death and solving the mystery locked in her mind so she can find peace.

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Review: Hexed By: Michelle Krys

Hexed (Hexed, #1)Hexed by Michelle Krys
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Indigo Blackwood finds herself caught in the middle of the ancient feud between The Family (consisting of witches) and The Priory (consisting of sorcerers). Indigo has had the eccentric family- Aunt Penny who clubs and can't hold a job, a mother who owns a wiccan shop The Black Cat, but when the Family Bible aka The Witch Hunter's Bible is stolen from the hidden place, being late for cheer practice is the last of her worries. With the like of "Mr. Wolf" Frederick and "Scarface" Leo hunting her family one by one, it's not so bad to have someone like Bishop, a mysterious warlock that came out of the sky, to help. Great secondaries, especially Paige, Indigo's friend - who will be getting her own book it looks like.
A bit predictable, a very easy read. Some characters are very likable but lack depth. A rainy afternoon read.

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Review: Before I Go To Sleep By: SJ Watson

Before I Go To SleepBefore I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Christine Lucas was attacked in Brighton which leaves her every morning without memory of most events, people, leaving her vulnerable every time she closes her eyes. She has been working secretly with a Dr Nash and keeping a journal to recall her daily memories - those that are resurfacing - and the flood of information that she can gather about herself. It is here, in the journal, where she scribes Do Not Trust Ben (her husband), learns more and more, unraveling the mystery of the years, their relationship, the past, and just what happened all those years ago.
Twisty and chilling. I was lost in the pages and did not want to let go. The most amazing part of the read was how it was written in Christine's voice and how easy it was to step into the fear.

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Friday, August 8, 2014

Review: How To Survive A Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters By: Andrew Shaffer -- Just in Time For Sharknado 2 and Shark Week

Just In Time For Sharknado 2 and Shark Week - This is a Fun Read    4/5

April Wexler and Fin Shepard have come together, with Andrew Shaffer, to put together a great survival guide. You will be able to take the information they have gathered, for each entry there is a Study, what to Avoid, and a how to Survive, there is also a wonderful rating system for the understanding - via : The Threat to Humanity, Risk of Encounter, and my personal favorite Fin's WTF (Wow That's Freaky) Factor.


Taking cues from legends and other SyFy films and books from the zombie survival movement, this one will not disappoint. I think this is great in the library of the prepper, Semper paratus (always ready).

I received this from Blogging for Books for an honest review